Spouting Water, 2020
Single-channel video
8 minutes 32 seconds
16:9, color, sound

On March 4th 2020, the same day that Hawaiʻi State Governor David Y. Ige issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, kekahi wahi finished the production of Spouting Water in Waikīkī, a U.S military-backed epicenter of international tourism in the Pacific. Nine days later, U.S. President Donald J. Trump declared a national emergency. Three days following his declaration, Ige implemented a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for visitors and residents entering the State of Hawai‘i. As a result of trans-Pacific travel restrictions Hawaiʻi’s economy collapsed and the unemployment rate for the month of May was 22.6%, second highest in the country following Nevada. Spouting Water is a post-mortem portrait; it captures the final gasps of an already exhausted industry down on the sidewalk in Waikīkī.

HUNKS
of raw meat
down on the sidewalk
in waikiki
look to me
like something
OBSCENE!

but it’s not
so STRANGE
in waikiki
where dirt’s
expensive
and bricks
are cheaper
than rocks—

can’t stand
to look at it
any longer
i get up
and FLEE
the MONSTER

WAIKIKI!

[Poem from Down on the Sidewalk in Waikiki by Wayne Kaumualii Westlake (1972 to 1973)]